Medical towel and method for manufacturing

ABSTRACT

A dye free medical towel and a method of making thereof, comprising natural, dye free, cotton absorbent cloth material, the towel having a first reduced glare characteristic and reduced linting.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/370,736 filed Aug. 4, 2010 and entitled “MEDICAL TOWEL,” the contentsof which are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Some embodiments relate generally to absorbent medical products and moreparticularly to absorbent medical towels for use in healthcare.

Absorbent medical products are prevalent in many aspects of healthcarefor use in medical procedures from wound dressings to general cleaning.Medical towels, for example, are used to soak up and absorb bodilyfluids such as blood or other exudates resulting from wounds orsurgically created openings within the body.

Originally these towels were made of woven cotton and bleached,generally resulting in a bright white towel. The bright white colorhowever produces glare, particularly from operating room lighting,causing poor and distracting visual conditions during procedures. Theglare is problematic as it results in visual discomfort, and leads tofatigue of operating room staff during surgical procedures. In somecases, it has been observed that the greatest discomfort from glare andbrightness was at 480 nm and 650 nm. One solution has been to add dyecoloring to the absorbent material in an attempt to reduce the glare.However this results in additional steps to manufacture the product andfurther reduces the absorbency of the towel.

In many instances, the dyeing portion of the process is subcontracted toan outside dye-house, which process medical towels under the sameproduction line as other non-medical products i.e. garment, fabric etc.Fabric is handled in an open production line separated into stepsincluding degreasing, dyeing, bleaching and washing etc. Additionally,bleaching further increases linting due to the mechanical breakdown fromthe bleaching process, particularly with chlorine based bleaches.

This open production line separated into steps involves extensivehandling and chemical treatment on fabric in a non-controlledenvironment, which reduces the hygiene level and absorbency of thefabric, as well as increasing the lint. Lint is a well known cause ofinfection and if introduced into a body cavity, it can have serious lifethreatening implications. All surgical products introduced to thesterile field or close to the surgical site are generally required tohave no or low linting characteristics.

The 2009 new prospective payment plan from CMS (Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services) requires hospitals to be financially accountable forSurgical Site Infections (SSI). Therefore an increased awareness that“causes of surgical site infections” can be prevented is heightened morethan ever before. In the United States it's reported that between500,000 and 750,000 SSIs occur annually and the median costs of asurgical site infection is approx. $62,908 per patient according toEngemann J J, Carmeli Y, Cosgrove S E, et al.http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/reducing-surgical-infections.html.The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has revised their guidelines forprevention of SSI for facilities to implement these guidelines(http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/nichols.htm) and to reduce lintin accordance with these guidelines.

In order to reach the surgical standard, the fabric has to bereprocessed including washing and drying afterwards in a controlledenvironment.

Thus, there is a need for an eco-friendly, reduced glare, low lint,dye-free, absorbable towel for medical use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a processing tank for the dye free medical towel.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary process chart for a dye free medical towel.

FIG. 3 is a table showing whiteness index measurements.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary graphical illustration of the reflectivity for afirst and second sample towel as a function of wavelength.

FIG. 5 is a color chart for the first and second samples.

FIG. 6 is a table showing whiteness index measurements for a firstmedical towel sample and a second medical towel sample.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary graphical illustration of the reflectivity for afirst, second and third sample towel as a function of wavelength.

FIG. 8 is a color chart for the first, second and third samples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In describing the embodiments of the invention in detail and referringto the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughout thefigures. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims,the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise: the meaning of “a,” “an,”and “the” includes plural reference, the meaning of “in” includes “in”and “on.” Relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, andthe like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action fromanother entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying anyactual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.

Embodiments of the invention provide a natural fiber medical towel(“natural towel” or “medical towel”) that has reduced lint, increasedabsorbency and low glare characteristics. In so doing, embodiments ofthe invention work to provide a dye-free natural cloth with increasedabsorbency concurrently with reduced reflectivity and further reducedamounts of lint. This leads to an environmentally friendly towel thathas acceptable lint levels for medical procedures such as those in thesterile environment of the operating room. As used in this description,“natural towel,” “natural fiber” and similar terms indicate materialsthat have the characteristics of the novel medical towel and method ofmanufacture described herein. Such terms should not be understood toinclude or imply any additional limitation beyond those expresslydescribed.

In one embodiment, the medical towel is comprised of natural cotton, dyefree absorbent cloth material, the medical towel having a first reducedglare characteristic. Glare can be based on visual observations underoperating room conditions as well as measured percent reflectance and/ortransmittance of light at a given wavelength or frequency band.Additionally, the whiteness (WI) of the fabric can have an effect on thereflectivity and glare of the medical towel. The medical towel can haveincreased fluid retention characteristics over absorbent towels of thepast as well as reduced glare, without the need for the application ofglare reducing agents such as dyes, films or the like.

In one embodiment, the medical towel can be used in an operating room(OR) during surgical procedures. The medical towel may be sterilized andmay be used intra-operatively as a surgical drape barrier, reinforcementfor table covers, rolls for instruments, and/or as for intra-cavitypacking for open patient procedures, such as, for example, open-heart oropen abdominal. The medical towel can be less linty, more absorbent,hypo-allergenic and more environmentally friendly than traditionallydyed OR towels.

In one embodiment, advantages of the medical towel can includeenvironmentally friendly processing resulting in an environmentalfriendly product. White, bleached OR towels and drapes used in the past,migrated toward a darker colors (e.g. green & blue), and moved away fromthe solid white color, due to glare issues from the intense surgicallighting. In this embodiment, the medical towel fibers are processed soas to retain the natural color of the cotton and can result in glarecharacteristics that are surprisingly favorable under OR lightingconditions. In this embodiment, the natural color can be substantiallysimilar to a pantone matching system number 400. Removing the entire dyeprocess, which is typically done by a third party supplier, furtherremoves the chlorine bleaching process that occurs as a preparation stepfor the addition of the dye to the fabric. The elimination of thechlorine bleach step can further reduce the amount of lint and othercontaminants introduced as a result of the extra steps.

In this embodiment the process of treating the medical towel cansubstantially eliminate the bleaching, can completely eliminate thedyeing process, can consolidate the degreasing and washing into one stepunder high-temperature/high-pressure and can include a triple-washprocedure. The medical towel fibers can have minimal exposure to highchemical dyeing/bleaching material/process and eliminate pollutionresulting from the presence of the dye. Some dyes may cause harm to thetissue or organs coming in contact with them as well as post-op healingcomplications, particularly if not properly bonded to the fabric.Washing in a high-temperature/high-pressure & triple-wash procedure canimprove the cleanliness of products and enable the fabric to maintainthe hygiene level while substantially preserving the natural color.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forproducing a medical towel with color and reflectance characteristicsthat reduce the glare and reflectivity associated with a solid whitecolor. By consolidating the degreasing and washing into one step, andeliminating bleaching and dyeing, the manufacturing process steps of themedical towel can result in better color control, thereby substantiallymaintaining the natural color of medical towel fibers at a predeterminedlevel that can reduce the glare and reflectivity.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a medicaltowel with absorbent and low lint characteristics. By using this“one-step” manufacturing process (i.e. elimination of the dyeingprocess), the medical towel fibers are maintained in a controlled systemwithout extensive exposure or handling of the medical towel fibers,resulting in reduced lint levels. Further, the triple wash procedure canremove exiguous impurities including cotton knots, can improve thecleanness of products, and can result in a medical towel that meets orexceeds the absorbency of current OR towels. The standards forlaboratory tests demonstrate surprisingly favorable result for wickingrate, absorbent capacity, and Gelbo-flex linting.

In one embodiment the medical towel can include a plurality of wovencotton fibers that are natural and dye-free, and has a reflectancepercentage that can be below about 75 percent, measured at allwavelengths between about 360 nm and about 750 nm. Woven cotton fibersare implemented as one embodiment, it is understood however that themedical towel may be embodied in other forms including but not limitedto non-woven forms as well. In another embodiment, the percentreflectance can be about 60 percent or less at wavelengths at or belowabout 600 nm and can be greater than about 25 percent at wavelengthsbetween about 360 nm and about 750 nm. In one embodiment, the percentreflectance can be less than about 75 percent and can be greater thanabout 25 percent, and the whiteness can be less than about 20 percentWI. In one embodiment the color of the natural towel can besubstantially equivalent to 400 of the pantone matching system (PMS). Inyet another embodiment, the percent reflectance can be less than about50% at a wavelength of about 480 nm. In this embodiment, the percentreflectance can be greater than about 25 percent at a wavelength ofabout 360 nm.

In one embodiment the natural color of the cotton fibers used incombination with the processing characteristics can result in a medicaltowel with a natural color substantially similar or equivalent to 400PMS, and can have a whiteness index less than 75% WI-CIE, measured inaccordance with ASTM Test Method E313-05, D65-10 as the illuminationsource standard. ASTM Test Method E313-05 generally is the method usedin the standard practice for calculating yellowness and whitenessindices from instrumentally measured color coordinates in measuring thewhiteness of the medical towels. Whiteness index (WI) is the degree towhich a surface is white. D65-10 is only one exemplary standardilluminant and it is realized by those of ordinary skill in the art thatother illumination conditions may be used however, every operating roomis different and lighting equipment and range of color temperaturediffer as well and hence the D56-10 standard illuminant was chosen asthe standard of measure. Other standards include the Ganz-GriesserWhiteness Index, the European standard BS EN 14079: 2003, Chinesestandard YY0330-2002, and the Medical Purified Cotton Standard. Forclarity, the ASTM Test Method E313-05 will be used unless anotherstandard is specifically referenced.

Towels with a whiteness less than about 75% WI-CIE can exhibit reducedluminescence and reduced reflected (specular) glare and therefore canexhibit favorable characteristics for use in medical procedures underoperating room lighting conditions. In one embodiment the whiteness canbe less than about 50% WI-CIE. In still another embodiment the whitenesscan be less than about 30% WI-CIE and can be between about 7% and about17% WI-CIE as per ASTM Test Method E313-05, D65-10 standard illuminant.In one embodiment, the towel can have a whiteness between about 7% andabout 17%, can have a percent reflectance of less than about 50% atwavelengths below about 500 nm, and can have a natural color yellowmeasured at about 10%, giving the towel low glare. This further canretain the natural fiber characteristic look. Because the towel isdye-free, the natural color, which can appear as a tan in thisembodiment, is achieved by the natural color of the cotton used inconjunction with the process of forming the towel. In one embodiment,removing the bleaching process, which is typically used in the dyeingstage of the manufacturing process, prevents the unwanted whitening ofthe cotton fibers of the medical towel. In one embodiment, removal ofchlorine bleach of the dye stage can prevent the whitening of thefibers. Further the three stage, or triple wash, can rinse the medicaltowel fibers at multiple temperatures sufficiently to clean the clothwhile preserving the natural color and maintaining a reduced amount ofoverall lint.

In another embodiment, the towel can have a whiteness between about 7%and about 17%, can have a percent reflectance of less than about 50% atwavelengths below about 500 nm, and can have a natural color yellow ofsubstantially similar to 400 PMS measured at about 10%, and can resultin the towel having a low glare.

In one embodiment, H₂O₂, a mild bleach, can be used in lowconcentrations in the degreasing stage, i.e. removal of the wax andother unwanted foreign material on the cotton fibers. In one embodimentabout 10% on weight of fiber (o.w.f) H₂O₂ can be used. In anotherembodiment NaOH at a concentration of about 5% o.w.f can be used withthe 10% o.w.f. H₂O₂.

Surprisingly, when chlorine bleach, generally used to prepare thematerial for the dye process, is removed the amount of lint present cango down. Although it is assumed that the absorbency would increase as aresult of the lack of dye, it was not expected that the lack of theopening of the fiber by the chlorine bleach would also lead to anincreased absorbency.

Absorbency is measured based on a standard wicking test (AATCC (AmericanAssociation of Textile Chemists and Colorists) TS017) standard and astandard surface water absorption of Terry Fabric (Water Flow Test)—ASTMD4772. The wicking test demonstrates the speed and rate of fluid spreadfor a fabric. A 20 mm length test strip and a 30 mm length test strip issubmerged in liquid and the speed is measured based on how fast thefluid travels through the fabric. The average fluid travel rate for anatural towel is 2.75 mm/Second, while it is 1.5 mm/Second for a bluedyed towel, equivalent to an 83% increase. The Water Flow Testdetermines the ability of a terry fabric to rapidly absorb and retainliquid water. In general, in this test, specimens are placed one at atime in an embroidery hoop and then the hoop/specimen assembly is placedat an angle on the base of the apparatus. After water flows down thesurface of each specimen, the amount of water retained by each specimenis measured. Six specimens are tested, three on the face of the fabricand three on the back of the fabric. The six observations are averagedto determine the surface water absorption of the fabric. The averageabsorbency rate for a natural towel is about 3.31 gram of water per 1gram of fabric, while a blue dyed towel retains less than 1 gram ofwater per gram of fabric.

Table 1 shows the absorption rate wick test results for one embodimentof the medical towel. In this embodiment, the natural medical towel wasprocessed without the dye stage, and processed with the triple washprocedure and a degreasing stage using NaOH at a concentration of about5% o.w.f. and about 10% o.w.f. H₂O₂. These results show a significantincrease in absorbency wicking rate over dyed towels. Table 2 shows theabsorption rate wick test results for a dyed towel. This is done inaccordance with the standard, AATCC TS017.

TABLE 1 ABSORPTION RATE WICKING TEST-NATURAL WOVEN AATCC TS017 ORIGINAL20 MM 30 MM WICK TIME, S WARP WEFT WARP WEFT 1 10 SEC  10 SEC  12 SEC 12SEC 2 7 SEC 9 SEC  9 SEC 11 SEC 3 8 SEC 10 SEC  10 SEC 12 SEC 4 9 SEC 8SEC 11 SEC 10 SEC 5 8 SEC 9 SEC 10 SEC 11 SEC AVG 8 SEC 9 SEC 10 SEC 11SEC AVG WICK RATE FOR 20 MM, MM/S 3.0 MM/S 2.0 MM/S — — FOR 30 MM, MM/S— — 3.0 MM/S 3.0 MM/S

TABLE 2 ABSORPTION RATE WICKING TESTBLUE WOVEN AATCC TS017 ORIGINAL 20MM 30 MM WICK TIME, S WARP WEFT WARP WEFT 1 12 SEC 15 SEC 14 SEC 17 SEC2 14 SEC 17 SEC 16 SEC 19 SEC 3 15 SEC 17 SEC 17 SEC 19 SEC 4 14 SEC 15SEC 16 SEC 17 SEC 5 17 SEC 15 SEC 19 SEC 17 SEC AVG 14 SEC 16 SEC 16 SEC18 SEC AVG WICK RATE FOR 20 MM, MM/S 1.0 MM/S 1.0 MM/S — — FOR 30 MM,MM/S — — 2.0 MM/S 2.0 MM/S

Table 3 and Table 4 show the surface water absorption of terry fabricsin accordance with ASTM 4772 standard. These tables show that the weightof water per weight of fabric for the natural medical towel was 3.31while the weight of water per weight of fabric for the dyed towel wasabout 0.9.

TABLE 3 SURFACE WATER ABSORPTION OF TERRY FABRICS (WATER FLOW TEST)-ASTM4772 COLOR: NATURAL WOVEN ABSORBED (ML) ABSORBENCY FACE BACK (%) 1) 15.012.0 27.0 2) 12.0 14.0 26.0 3) 14.0 12.0 26.0 AVERAGE: 13.7 12.7 OVERALLAVERAGE 13.2 26.3 WEIGHT OF WATER 13.2 — ABSORBED (GRAMS) WEIGHT OFFABRIC, 3.990 — 6 INCH DIAMETER (GRAMS) WEIGHT OF WATER 3.31 — PERWEIGHT OF FABRIC

TABLE 4 COLOR: BLUE WOVEN ABSORBED (ML) ABSORBENCY FACE BACK (%) 1) 5.04.0 9.0 2) 4.0 4.0 8.0 3) 2.0 5.0 7.0 AVERAGE: 3.7 3.0 OVERALL AVERAGE3.4 — WEIGHT OF WATER 3.4 — ABSORBED (GRAMS) WEIGHT OF FABRIC, 3.796 — 6INCH DIAMETER (GRAMS) WEIGHT OF WATER 0.90 — PER WEIGHT OF FABRIC

Table 5 shows the results for linting as a function of particulate size.The standard for measuring the amount of lint is the Gelbo-Flex test.The Gelbo-Flex test counts the amount of dry particulate released fromthe test sample during a 300 second flex (value doubled for particlesreleased/minute). Particles are counted in size from about 0.5 to about25 micros. The natural medical towel released about 58089 particles at0.5 micron and larger.

TABLE 5 TOTAL PARTICULATE SIZE(μm) LINTING TOTAL 0.3 0.5 1 5 10 25 ≧0.3≧0.5 BLUE 263234 351905 353842 15255 1546 878 987259 723715 NATURAL17963 25711 29436 1904 571 480 76057 58089 RATE 14 12 8 3 2 13 12 12

TABLE 6 GELBO FLEX TEST AVERAGE OF TEST PIECES 1-5 Side A: Natural BParticulate Size (μm) TOTAL LINTING Period (sec.) 0.3 0.5 1.0 5.0 10.025.0 ≧0.3 ≧0.5 30 4502 7209 10303 925 307 332 23578 19077 60 3369 53436795 471 139 90 16207 12838 90 2449 3551 4050 246 62 45 10404 7955 1201882 2747 2940 163 41 26 7799 5917 150 1704 2347 2306 104 18 19 64984795 180 1532 2049 1952 81 16 14 5645 4113 210 1491 1948 1878 78 19 155429 3939 240 1477 1850 1656 56 12 9 5060 3583 270 1439 1760 1560 59 1310 4841 3401 300 1456 1773 1651 74 16 10 4979 3523 Total 21301 3057735092 2256 644 571 90441 69140 Total - C0 21282 30568 35083 2256 643 57190402 69120 Std Dev 11023 14646 15257 797 187 234 41766 30842 Coef ofVar 52 48 43 35 29 41 46 46 Coef of Linting: 4.96 4.84

TABLE 7 AVERAGE OF TEST PIECES 6-10 Side B: Natural 8 Particulate Size(μm) TOTAL LINTING Period (sec.) 0.3 0.5 1.0 5.0 10.0 25.0 ≧0.3 ≧0.5 302851 4614 6687 632 241 216 15239 12388 60 2254 3517 4501 329 91 59 107518497 90 1631 2451 2738 152 42 24 7038 5406 120 1284 1835 1963 116 31 245253 3969 150 1214 1640 1656 78 21 15 4625 3411 180 1138 1492 1423 58 1914 4144 3006 210 1098 1402 1282 52 13 9 3854 2758 240 1097 1334 1239 4211 8 3732 2634 270 1035 1296 1177 46 11 8 3574 2539 300 1039 1273 111547 17 13 3503 2464 Total 14641 20853 23780 1552 497 389 61712 47071Total - C0 14625 20847 23778 1547 496 388 61682 47057 Std Dev 6988 91379026 392 131 102 25642 18711 Coef of Var 48 44 38 25 26 26 42 40 Coef ofLinting: 4.79 4.67

Skin irritation test results show that the towels are non-irritating inaccordance with the ISO 10993-10: 2002 test standard. The test wasdesigned to determine the dermal irritation potential of the testarticle on the shaved skin of the rabbit as required by regulation ofmedical device biocompatibility. In one embodiment, 6 patches ofapproximately 1×1 inches cut from towel sample were wet with tap waterand applied to the shaved skin of three adult albino rabbits. After aminimum four hours exposure period, the patches were removed.Observation for skin irritation were conducted after unwrapped. Based onthe Primary Irritation Score result, the results indicate that thenatural medical towel has the lowest possible score of zero tested at 60minutes, twenty four hours, forty eight hours and seventy two hoursaccording to the standard. Therefore, the towels are considered anon-irritant.

FIG. 1 illustrates a processing system 100 as one embodiment forproducing a medical towel. In this embodiment, a processing tank 102 hasan in-let 104 and an outlet 106. A bulk roll 108 (“fabric 108”) ofmaterials, e.g., natural fibers, can be placed in the processing tank102. While described as a bulk roll, materials for the medical towel canbe placed in the processing tank 102 in other configurations, such as,for example, pre-cut to an intermediate size, pre-cut to a final size,loose, and/or combinations of sizes and configurations. The size andshape of the bulk roll is not shown to scale and is by way of exampleonly, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Theprocess of producing the natural medical towel is carried out in acondensed system/chamber generally calleda-High-temperature/High-pressure Degreasing & Triple-Washing System.This process eliminates dyeing and bleaching steps and, as a result, thefabric 108 can be exposed to less chemicals, and ultimately can resultin the medical towel having reduced lint and reduced glare and ingeneral, can be a more natural, environmentally friendly medical towelwithout the dye and use fewer chemicals in the processing stages.Consolidating the degreasing step and the washing step can result in amedical towel that can be more hypo-allergenic and more absorbent than atowel produced using other processes. Furthermore, eliminating thedyeing and bleaching process, can reduce the amount of resources used inproducing the medical towel.

FIG. 2 illustrates, in chart form, one example of the processing stepsfor processing the fabric 108 for creating a medical towel. The processis broken down into three phases: the pre-processing phase 201, thedegreasing phase 203, and the triple washing phase 205. These phases areall carried out in the batch processing system 100 of FIG. 1. In thisembodiment, the fabric 108 may not be removed during the process, forexample, for the addition of chlorine bleach or dye, or any othertreatments. In the preprocessing phase water can be added to the tank102 at a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius (° C.), and thepressure can be increased (at 202). In one embodiment, the pressure canbe about 3 Kg per cm². It is understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art that the pressure may be chosen in accordance with general towelpreprocessing and scouring steps.

A scouring agent can be added to the tank (at 204). The scouring agentin one embodiment can be a mixture of alcohol ethoxylate and SodiumAlkyl Sulfonate (SAS). In this embodiment the scouring agent can beabout 1.5% o.w.f ethoxylate and SAS. The pressure in the degreasingstage can be preferably about 3 Kg/cm² and the pressure in the triplewashing stage can be about 2 Kg/cm². After the pressure is increased,the fabric 108 can be allowed to soak (at 206). In one embodiment thesoak period can be about five minutes.

Next, the fabric 108 can be degreased (at 203). Degreasing can removeunwanted impurities such as wax and other particulates on the cottonfibers of the fabric. In this stage, the process can include, heatingthe solution temperature to about 120° C. (at 208). In this embodiment,the temperature can gradually increased over a one hour time period toabout 120° C. Once at about 120° C., NaOH at about 5% o.w.f and H₂O₂ atabout 10% o.w.f can be added (at 210). In this embodiment the time toadd these can be about ten minutes. Then the fabric 108 can be allowedto soak for about 80 minutes in one embodiment (at 212). The mixture canthen be drained from the tank.

Continuing with FIG. 2, after the degreasing phase 203, the fabric 108can be washed (which can also be referred to a rinsing) in a three stagerinse phase 205. First, rinse water can be added to the tank at atemperature of 80° C., for the first rinse stage (at 213). The pressurein this embodiment in the tank for this phase can be about 2 Kg/cm². Inone embodiment, the fabric 108 can be agitated or the water can beagitated within the tank 102, while in other embodiments, the materialcan be static within the tank 102. In one embodiment, the fabric 108 canbe washed for about 15 minutes (at 214) and then the temperature of thewater can be reduced to about 60° C. (at 216). For the second wash stageof the triple rinse phase, the fabric 108 can be washed at about 60° C.for about 15 minutes (at 218). After the second washing stage, the watercan be drained from the tank (at 220).

The third washing stage, can begin with adding water at about 20° C. (at222). The material is washed for about 15 minutes in this stage (at222). After about 15 minutes, the pH of the mixture can be adjusted toabout neutral (at 224). After the adjustment, the water can be removedfrom the tank 102 and the fabric 108 can be dried and then cut andprepared into towels of desired size. In one embodiment the towel sizeis about 17 inches by about 25 inches, plus or minus about 2 inches andin rectangular form. In this embodiment, the weight of the towel can beabout 60 grams plus or minus about 10 grams and preferably plus or minusabout 5 grams.

An overall degreasing process time can be ninety minutes, andsurprisingly can result in lower reflectivity, whiteness and glare ofthe finished medical towel. The degreasing period at a first temperatureof about 120° C. for about 90 minutes can result in a reflectance ofless than about 75 percent and greater than about 25 percent measuredover a wavelength between about 360 nm to about 750 nm. In thisembodiment the degreasing solution can contain NaOH at 5% o.w.f and H₂O₂at 10% o.w.f.

In one embodiment, all three phases can occur as a batch process. Inother words, the fabric 108 can be processed in the same tank from thefirst phase to the third phase. The fabric 108 can be removed from thetank for drying and then packaging. This process can take place in asingle tank as opposed to multiple tanks, because there is no need toremove the towel roll from the initial processing (degreasing, triplewashing) and transfer it to another tank for bleaching and dyeing.

In a first embodiment, the whiteness, reflectance and colorcharacteristics of the natural towel can be illustrated in FIGS. 3-5.FIG. 3 illustrates the whiteness of two samples, whiteness measurementsin WI-CIE and in WI-Berg. FIG. 4 illustrates the percent reflectance asa function of the wavelength of light. FIG. 5 illustrates the color. Inthis embodiment, the whiteness of sample A can be about 30.41 WI-CIE andthe percent reflectance (FIG. 4) can be greater than about 50 percent at400 nm and less than or equal to about 75 percent at 700 nm. The color(FIG. 5) can be measured along the yellow axis at about 10%.

The whiteness of sample B can be about 3.22 WI-CIE and the percentreflectance can be greater than about 25 percent at 400 nm and less thanor equal to about 65 percent at 700 nm. The color (FIG. 5) can bemeasured along the yellow axis at about 10%.

In another example, three sample towels, made with the three phaseprocess described in relation to FIG. 2, were measured for theirwhiteness index, percent reflectance and color percentage. FIGS. 6-8show the measurement results. FIG. 6 illustrates the whiteness of threesamples, whiteness measurements in WI-CIE and in WI-Berg. FIG. 7illustrates the percent reflectance as a function of the wavelength oflight for the three samples. FIG. 8 illustrates the color percentage forthe three samples.

In this embodiment, the whiteness 602 of sample 1 can be about 12.22WI-CIE and the percent reflectance (FIG. 7) can be less than about 50percent at 400 nm and less than or equal to about 70 percent at 700 nm.The color (FIG. 8) can be measured along the yellow axis 802 at lessthan about 0.4.

The whiteness 604 of sample 2 can be about 7.23 WI-CIE and the percentreflectance (FIG. 7) can be less than about 50 percent at 400 nm andless than or equal to about 70 percent at 700 nm. The color (FIG. 8) canbe measured along the yellow axis 802 at less than about 0.4.

The whiteness 606 of sample 3 can be about 10.94 WI-CIE and the percentreflectance (FIG. 7) can be less than about 50 percent at 400 nm andless than or equal to about 70 percent at 700 nm. The color (FIG. 8) canbe measured along the yellow axis 802 at less than about 0.4.

In all samples of this embodiment, the percent reflectance can begreater than about 25% at all wavelengths between 360 nm and 750 nm.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Where methods described above indicate certain eventsoccurring in certain order, the ordering of certain events can bemodified. Additionally, certain of the events can be performedconcurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performedsequentially as described above. Although various embodiments have beendescribed as having particular features and/or combinations ofcomponents, other embodiments are possible having a combination of anyfeatures and/or components from any of embodiments where appropriate.Furthermore, while certain temperatures, pressures, and othermeasurements, calculations, and/or other values are described inapproximate terms, the values used are not meant to be exact and a rangeof values can be used, for example plus or minus 10 percent. By way ofexample, while a temperature may be described as 120 degrees Celsius,the temperature can be between about 108 degrees Celsius and about 132degrees Celsius, preferably between about 114 degrees Celsius and about126 degrees Celsius, and most preferably about 120 degrees Celsius.

While the present disclosure and what the best modes of the inventionshave been described in a manner establishing possession hereof by theinventors and enabling those of ordinary skill in the art to make anduse the same, it will be understood and appreciated that there are manyequivalents to the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein and thatmodifications and variations may be made thereto without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the inventions, which are to be limited not bythe exemplary embodiments but by the appended claims.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for producing a dye-free medical towelfrom a dye-free cotton material, comprising: preparing the dye-freecotton material for processing by: disposing the dye-free cottonmaterial into a container and adding first water at a first temperatureto the container; and adding a scouring agent to the container to form afirst solution, the first solution including the first water and thescouring agent, and soaking the dye-free cotton material in the firstsolution; degreasing, after the preparing, the dye-free cotton materialby: heating the solution to a second temperature greater than the first;adding a degreasing agent to the container to form a second solution,the second solution including the first water, the scouring agent, andthe degreasing agent, and soaking the dye-free cotton material in thesecond solution; and removing the second solution; forming, after thedegreasing, the dye-free cotton material into a dye-free medical towel.22. The method of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises, afterthe degreasing, rinsing the dye-free material.
 23. The method of claim21, wherein the first temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius and thesecond temperature is about 120 degrees Celsius.
 24. The method of claim21, wherein forming the dye-free cotton material into a dye-free medicaltowel further includes: drying the dye-free cotton material; and cuttingthe dye-free cotton material into a rectangular shape.
 25. The method ofclaim 21, wherein degreasing the dye-free cotton material furtherincludes adding a non-chlorine bleach, and wherein the first solutionincludes the non-chlorine bleach.
 26. The method of claim 25, whereinthe non-chlorine bleach is a hydrogen peroxide solution.
 27. The methodof claim 21, wherein the degreasing agent is a sodium hydroxidesolution.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein the dye-free medical towelhas a lint release less than 700,000 particles of 0.5 micron size orgreater, an absorbency rate greater than 2.0 mm/second, and a whitenessof less than or equal to 50% WI-CIE.
 29. The method of claim 21, whereinthe dye-free medical towel has a reflectivity less than 75 percent at awavelength of between 400 nm and 750 nm.
 30. A dye free medical towelobtainable by the method of claim 21, comprising: a cotton absorbentcloth, having: a reflectance percentage value of greater than about 25and less than about 75, at a wavelength of between about 360 nm andabout 750 nm, a whiteness value of less than about 50% WI-CIE, anabsorbency wicking rate of greater than about 2 millimeters per second;and a lint release less than 700,000 particles of 0.5 micron size orgreater as measured by a Gelbo-Flex test.
 31. The dye free medical towelof claim 30, wherein the color of the cotton absorbent cloth issubstantially pantone
 400. 32. The dye free medical towel of claim 30,wherein the cotton absorbent cloth has a reflectance percentage value ofgreater than about 25 and less than about 70, between about 400 nm andabout 700 nm.
 33. The dye free medical towel of claim 30, wherein thecotton absorbent cloth has a weight of water per weight of fabric ratioof greater than about 3 as measured by ASTM
 4772. 34. The dye freemedical towel of claim 30, wherein the absorbency wicking rate isgreater than about 3 millimeters per second.
 35. The dye free medicaltowel of claim 30, wherein the whiteness value is less than about 35%WI-CIE.
 36. A dye free medical towel obtainable by the method of claim21, comprising: a non-irritant woven cotton absorbent cloth having: areflectance percentage value of greater than about 50 and less thanabout 70, at a wavelength of between about 400 nm and about 700 nm, awhiteness value of less than about 25% WI-CIE, an absorbency wickingrate of greater than about 2 millimeters per second; and a lint releaseless than about 100,000 particles of 0.3 micron size or greater asmeasured by a Gelbo-Flex test.
 37. The dye free medical towel of claim36, wherein the absorbency rate is greater than about 3 millimeters persecond.
 38. The dye free medical towel of claim 36, wherein thenon-irritant woven cotton absorbent cloth has a lint release of lessthan about 70,000 particles of 0.5 micron size or greater as measured bya Gelbo-Flex test.
 39. The dye free medical towel of claim 36, whereinthe non-irritant woven cotton absorbent cloth includes a color value ofless than about 0.4 measured in the yellow spectrum.
 40. The dye freemedical towel of claim 36, wherein non-irritant woven cotton absorbentcloth has a weight of water per weight of fabric ratio of greater thanabout 3 as measured by ASTM 4772.